This easy pizza dough recipe is great for beginners and produces a soft homemade pizza crust. Skip the pizza delivery because you only need 6 basic ingredients to begin!
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
Every great pizza begins with a great pizza crust. Some like it thin and crispy, while others prefer a thick and soft crust. This homemade pizza crust has it all: soft & chewy with a delicious crisp and AWESOME flavor. It’s my go-to pizza dough recipe and just a glance at the hundreds of reviews in the comments section tells me that it’s a favorite for many others too!
Easy Dough for Bread Beginners
This is a no-fuss dough recipe for beginners. You need just 6 basic ingredients, plus a little cornmeal for preparing the pan. (You can skip that if needed.) Most of the time is hands off as the dough rises. You might wonder… why waste the time when you can just buy frozen pizza dough? Frozen pizza dough is certainly convenient, but from-scratch crust has unbeatable flavor and texture that only comes from fresh dough. And you can use the dough for cheese breadsticks, too!
Reader, Andy, commented: “Super easy, super fast, super good! I don’t like doughy thick pizzas and I find with this recipe that I can make them thin and crunchy, I love how easy it is. I make pizza once or twice a month! Haven’t bought one for quite some time now! ★★★★★“
If you’ve ever made homemade bagels or sandwich bread, you can easily make pizza dough because it’s quicker, easier, and requires fewer steps.
Overview: Homemade Pizza Dough Ingredients
All pizza dough starts with the same basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil. Here’s the breakdown of what I use in my homemade pizza crust recipe. The full printable recipe is below.
- Yeast: I use Platinum Yeast from Red Star. I have the best results when I use this instant yeast. The Platinum yeast is fantastic because its careful formula strengthens your dough and makes making working with yeast simple. You only need 1 standard packet of yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) to get the job done.
- Water: I tested this pizza dough recipe with different amounts of water. 1 and 1/3 cups is the perfect amount. Use warm water to cut down on rise time, about 100-110°F. Anything over 130ºF kills the yeast.
- Flour: Use unbleached all-purpose white flour in this recipe. Bleaching the flour strips away some of the protein, which will affect how much water the flour absorbs. You can substitute bread flour for a chewier pizza crust. If you love whole grain bread, try this whole wheat pizza dough instead.
- Oil: A couple Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil adds wonderful flavor to the dough. Don’t forget to brush the dough with olive oil before adding the toppings, which prevents the crust from tasting soggy.
- Salt: Salt adds necessary flavor.
- Sugar: 1 Tablespoon of sugar increases the yeast’s activity and tenderizes the dough, especially when paired with a little olive oil.
- Cornmeal: Cornmeal isn’t in the dough, but it’s used to dust the pizza pan. Cornmeal gives the pizza crust a little extra flavor and crisp. Most delivery pizzas you enjoy have cornmeal on the bottom crust!
You could also add 1 teaspoon each garlic powder and Italian seasoning blend to the dough when you add the flour.
Reader, Shane, commented: “Excellent pizza dough. I add about 1 tbs of garlic powder and Italian herbs to give the dough more flavor as well as 40 grams of cornmeal for a little crunch. It freezes well and makes a nice thin crust. ★★★★★“
This is a Lean Bread Dough
Pizza crust, like homemade bagels, artisan bread, and focaccia, requires a lean dough. A lean dough doesn’t use eggs or butter. Without the extra fat to make the dough soft, you’re promised a crusty pizza crust. (However, I recommend using some olive oil for flavor and to keep the interior on the softer side.) Recipes like dinner rolls, homemade breadsticks, and overnight cinnamon rolls require fat to yield a “rich dough,” which creates a softer and more dessert-like bread.
Overview: How to Make Easy Pizza Dough
- Make the dough: Mix the dough ingredients together by hand or use a hand-held or stand mixer. Do this in steps as described in the written recipe below.
- Knead: Knead by hand or with your mixer. I like doing this by hand. If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my How to Knead Dough post and video can help with this step.
- Rise: Place dough into a greased mixing bowl, cover tightly, and set aside to rise for about 90 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.
- Punch & shape: Punch down risen dough to release air bubbles. Divide in 2. Roll dough out into a 12-inch circle. Cover and rest as you prep the pizza toppings.
- Top it: Top with favorite pizza toppings.
- Bake: Bake pizza at a very high temperature for only about 15 minutes.
Young bakers can lend a hand AND have fun in the process. Let the kids help you press down the dough and shape into a circle. They can add their cheeses and make pepperoni faces on top of the pie. Who doesn’t love a smiley pizza? 🙂
Favorite Pizza Pans
Let me share my top choices for pizza pans just in case you’re shopping for a new one. I use and love (affiliate links) this one and this one. If you like baking your homemade pizzas on pizza stones, I’ve used this one before and it’s wonderful.
If you don’t have a pizza pan, use a regular sheet pan. Grease it with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal as directed below, and then press the dough into whatever shape that will fit. Make sure the dough is about 1/2-inch thick. For a thinner pizza, stretch the dough out more.
FAQ: How Can I Make The Dough Ahead of Time?
Prepare the dough through step 3 below, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water in the dough which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) As a bonus, the slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 5 in the recipe below (the shaping step). If the dough didn’t quite double in size when rising, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before shaping.
FAQ: How Do I Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough?
This recipe yields two 12-inch pizzas. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQ: How Do I Thaw Frozen Pizza Dough?
Place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Continue with step 5 in the recipe below.
Uses for Homemade Pizza Dough
Here are the many uses for this homemade pizza dough:
- Extra Cheese Pizza & Stuffed Crust Pizza
- Pesto Pizza (pictured above)
- Homemade Ham & Cheese Pockets
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
- Stromboli
- Spinach Artichoke White Pizza
- Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza
- Garlic Knots
- Margherita style: For 2 pizzas, when it’s time to top it in step 6 below, top with the following. (Feel free to halve for only 1 pizza.) Make a homemade tomato sauce by blending 1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, pinch of salt, and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Spread on shaped doughs. Top each with 2-3 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake as directed, and then sprinkle each hot pizza with 2 Tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese and a handful of roughly chopped fresh basil.
- Apple gorgonzola pizza is a favorite: For 1 pizza, when it’s time to top it in step 6 below, top with 1 and 1/2 cups (6oz or 168g) shredded mozzarella cheese, 8 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese, thin slices of apple, then sprinkle with chopped fresh or dried rosemary before baking.
- Or any other pizza topping you love: pepperoni, crumbled sausage, black olives, onions, mushrooms, jalapeños, etc
Here are my flatbread pizza crust, whole wheat pizza dough, and cold veggie pizza recipes.
PrintEasy Homemade Pizza Dough
- Prep Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 12-inch pizzas
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Follow these basic instructions for a thick, crisp, and chewy pizza crust at home. The recipe yields enough pizza dough for two 12-inch pizzas and you can freeze half of the dough for later. Close to 2 pounds of dough total.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)*
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, plus more for pan and brushing on dough
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) unbleached all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and surface
- sprinkle of cornmeal for dusting the pan
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size. (Tip: For the warm environment on a particularly cold day, heat your oven to 150°F (66°C). Turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and keep the door slightly ajar. This will be a warm environment for your dough to rise. After about 30 minutes, close the oven door to trap the air inside with the rising dough. When it’s doubled in size, remove from the oven.)
- Preheat oven to 475°F (246°C). Allow it to heat for at least 15-20 minutes as you shape the pizza. (If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to preheat as well.) Lightly grease baking sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray or olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal, which gives the crust extra crunch and flavor.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half. (If not making 2 pizzas, freeze half of the dough for another time. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using lightly floured hands or rolling pin, gently flatten the dough into a disc. Place on prepared pan and, using lightly floured hands, stretch and flatten the disc into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. If the dough keeps shrinking back as you try to stretch it, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly for 5-10 minutes, then try again. Once shaped into a 12-inch circle, lift the edge of the dough up to create a lip around the edges. I simply pinch the edges up to create the rim. If using a pizza stone, place the dough directly on baker’s peels dusted with cornmeal.
- Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. I suggest pepperoni & green peppers or jalapeño slices, extra cheese pizza, Hawaiian pizza, pesto pizza, spinach artichoke white pizza, or homemade BBQ chicken pizza.
- Top & bake the pizza: Using your fingers, push dents into the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. To prevent the filling from making your pizza crust soggy, brush the top lightly with olive oil. Top with your favorite toppings and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Slice hot pizza and serve immediately. Cover leftover pizza tightly and store in the refrigerator. Reheat as you prefer. Baked pizza slices can be frozen up to 3 months.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: This recipe yields enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas, a little less than 2 pounds total. After the pizza dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 5), you can freeze one of the balls of dough to make pizza at a later time. Or you can simply freeze both balls of dough separately. Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into individual zipped-top bag(s) and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 1 hour on the counter. Preheat the oven and continue with step 5, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
- Overnight/All Day Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3, but allow the dough to rise for 8-12 hours in the refrigerator. (If it needs to be in the refrigerator for longer, use cooler water in the dough which will slow the dough’s rise and allow for more time.) The slow rise gives the pizza dough wonderful flavor! When ready, continue with step 4. If the dough didn’t quite double in size overnight, let it sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before punching down (step 5).
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Dough Scraper | Pizza Pan or Baking Sheet | Pastry Brush | Pizza Cutter
- Yeast: Red Star Platinum yeast is an instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead. The rise time will be at least 90 minutes. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Pictured Pizza: This recipe yields 2 pizzas. For each, top with 1/2 cup pizza sauce, 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni slices, thinly sliced green pepper or jalapeño, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning blend or dried basil.
Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Addiction in 2013
Thank you so much, finally a pizza dough recipe that works. Amazing that you added the yeast tips. My kids loved making, baking and eating the pizza.
just made this last night! extremely impressed with the results. followed the recipe exactly except for cheese. all we had was a little mozzarella but lots of cheddar. used both and was surprised how delicious it was. the crust was impressive. definitely a keeper!
Perfect recipe for when ordered to stay home. I made it in a large rectangle pan so we have leftovers for breakfast! I will be saving this for future use.
I have tried many pizza crust recipes and this one is, by far, the best. The recipe is easy to follow and the end product turned out fantastic. I was out of cornmeal and it was still delicious , so, I really can’t wait to make another pizza once I have some.
I like this dough alot… no changes made to recipe.
Looks beautiful can’t wait to taste it. I am just amazed at how beautiful it is… waiting to post on taste. And the taste test awesome.
Recipes using yeast are not my favorite. Mainly because of my lack of experience. But this recipe is easy to follow, and delicious.
Hi Sally,
I already made this pizza twice and it was excellent. My concern here though is that my dough doesn’t rise as much as yours even after 2-3 hours even on a warm day. I used good quality instant yeast that I regularly use to make dinner rolls with. I even tested the water temperature at the beginning. What do you think might have gone wrong ? Kindly advise.
Sowmiya
This was a good dough recipe but too much flour for our elevation/climate. I would suggest starting with 2 cups and then moving up from there. A slightly tacky dough is what is aimed for. I had my daughter make this for her first yeast recipe and she enjoyed making it.
My kids loveeee it
Our new family go to pizza crust recipe. I double the recipe and make 4 pizzas for our family. I’ve tried lots of crust recipes, but this one’s the best we’ve tried. I’ll ensure the edges are brushed w olive oil. In my oven it takes nearly 20 min for the pizza to bake fully. So yummy. I’ll keep a batch of this in the freezer; our local pizzaria closed. Now we can have yummy pizza anytime!
Hello sally,
I brush around half TBSP of olive oil, should I add more?
Also, I should let you know that discovering your website was the best thing that happened in my kitchen, and that was 3 years ago. All my baking dessert are from here.
Pizza is my first savory recipe and planning to try out the bread recipes soon. Thank you for all your efforts and wish you the best of luck.
Hi Manar, You just want a light brush of olive oil on the crust, you can see in the video above what it looks like.
Thank you so much for following along and trusting my recipes! I hope you enjoy the pizza 🙂
Hello,
I just made my second pizza, love the taste, I’m just wondering why I don’t get the same crust color? It comes out barely browned?
Is there a step I’m missing ?
I’m so glad you enjoy the taste, Manar! Are you brushing your crust with olive oil before adding the toppings? I find that gives the crust a nice brown color – or I’m simply baking mine a minute longer than yours!
LOVED this recipe ! tried it a few hours ago, it’s my first time baking pizza ever ! I followed your exact measures ; PIZZA WAS A DELIGHT ! the dough was perfect , can’t wait to try more of your recipes !
This was fantastic! The dough had the perfect amount of both softness and stretch. I was concerned at first that it was a little too sticky, but as the extra flour from the board was worked into the dough it was perfect. This recipe is a keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Janice! Thanks for the positive feedback.
OMG this is perfect! I’ve tried lots of pizza dough recipes & never been happy. Not any more – this is so easy & makes the BEST crust ever. Never buying a pizza again
Amazing recipe! Super easy and delicious flavor. Do you have any recommendations for keeping the middle of the pizza still crispy? I find the crush crispy but the middle became quite soft.
I love this recipe! It’s so easy to make and comes out soft but sturdy enough for a ton of toppings. I double the recipe and mix it by hand before kneading. It is super easy to handle and rolls out easily, I made three 15×10” pizzas from a double batch of dough. This is definitely a recipe that I will make again and again!!
HiSally, I have used your recipes many times, and I’ve loved the results!This time not so much. The crust turned out dry and hard. How do I get the pillowy soft that I’m looking for? Knead more? or less? Or use more fluid? Help!
Hi Lynn! It sounds like the dough could have been over-worked or was too dry, both of which are easy fixes for next time. Keep the dough on the softer side (don’t add too much flour) and avoid over-working it. This dough should be puffy and soft!
THE best pizza dough recipe and so easy to make. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Sally – can I pre-bake this for about 5-6 minutes without any toppings?
Thank you
Hi Barbara! You can, yes, but it will begin to puff up in the oven.
I can’t believe it. I finally made an awesome pizza. Makes and thickness achievable and tasty.Thank you
fabulous and easy!
I used bread flour
Hi Sally, I made pizza for dinner tonight, my husband said it taste better than from the pizza shop ! I caramelized some onions and put them in the toppings ! Thank you for easy to follow recipes. Linda
Hi Sally! I do not have a mixer at the moment, only a hand mixer for cookies/cake batters. Shall I simply mix by hand, and if so, for how long?
Thank you!
Hi Isadora! You can mix by hand until the dough comes together, then knead it as directed.
Thank you Sally! I made it and turned out delicious!
Hi!
I tried out the recipe, but my dough was way too wet for some reason. I just kept adding flour so it turned out fine, but what is the actual consistency of the dough supposed to be? Is it still supposed to be a little sticky?
Yes, it’s supposed to be a little sticky and soft. Were you able to knead it with floured hands on a floured work surface?
I had the same issue! I just kept adding flour slowly until it was justt manageable to be rolled into a ball in order to rest. Its resting now so Ill update on the final result. it might have been too wet because i used half AP and half bread flour, and the flour might take more time to absorb the water, not so sure.
Hello Sally! Was wanting to make this in a cast iron skillet. Do you think that would work?
In a 10-12 inch skillet, definitely!
Every pizza crust I have ever tried has failed. This one worked out beautifully! It actually rose, baked fluffy and did not stick to pan. Very tasty too. I doubled the recipe for two extra large pizza’s.
Do you precook the veggies slightly to remove liquid that may make the top of the crust soggy?
You definitely can!
REALLY delicious. Great recipe. Here’s my one question: I used a baker’s peel and then transferred to a pizza stone. The cornmeal got all over the oven and caused lots of smoke. Ideas about how to fix that issue?
Hi Jessica! Things can get a little messy when moving dough to a pizza stone. You can try quickly removing the hot pizza stone, placing the shaped dough on top (so it makes a bit of a mess on the counter, not in the oven), then return the hot stone to the oven. Or you can skip the cornmeal next time.
Thanks! Would the pizza stick to the pizza stone if I didn’t use the cornmeal? Would another solution be to just use the pan (we really liked the crunch of the cornmeal).
If the dough is too wet, it will stick to the pizza stone. We have a pizza stone, but I like using my pizza pan, too. Obviously no big mess in the oven if you’re not transferring the dough to another surface!